PlayStation Network Earned More Than Xbox, Nintendo In 2018
Sony’s PlayStation 4 has been the undeniable frontrunner of this console generation, the hardware sporting a massive user base and regularly taking the top spot in sales. Though there’s plenty to keep eyes elsewhere, the Sony brand has more or less continued to hold the top spot, the year of 2018 being an especially successful time for the system.
As revealed by gaming analyst Daniel Ahmad, PlayStation had quite the sales haul last year, earning over 1.3 trillion yen ($12.5 billion USD) from PSN revenue alone. This figure accounts for content such as digital downloads, DLC, and PS Plus subscriptions, the console’s players evidently spending quite a lot on PlayStation’s various online services. This feat becomes even more impressive when stacked against competitors Microsoft and Nintendo, both the Xbox One and Switch paling considerably in comparison.
Total network services revenue in 2018 was 1373 billion yen, which is around $12.5 billion.
Once again, revenue generated from Sony’s Network services (PSN) in 2018 is higher than Nintendo’s total revenue for 2018.
Shows just how meaningful this is. pic.twitter.com/9SA7vHkS3d
— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) February 1, 2019
Nintendo Switch’s digital earnings totalled 45.1 billion yen, or about $411.8 million USD. This is a huge difference in revenue, even when compared with Big N’s entire earnings for the year, which stands at just over $9.6 billion USD. The same can also be said about Microsoft’s gaming division, which, while earning a much stronger $11.5 billion, was still about a billion short of PlayStation’s digital earnings.
Nintendo Digital sales for the quarter were 45.1 billion Yen, up 122% YoY.
The launch of Nintendo Switch Online was a large contributor alongside the continued strong performance of full game downloads and add ons.
(See why everyone wants to charge for online) pic.twitter.com/rbY2vmgnKA
— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) January 31, 2019
Annual revenue for Microsoft’s Gaming segment was $11.5 billion in 2018, up 23% YoY.
Primarily driven by software and services growth. pic.twitter.com/R2VW2qNSS2
— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) January 30, 2019
The success of PlayStation could almost surely be attributed to the gradual rise of online gaming and streaming, the two seeing extended emphasis through services such as PlayStation Now and PS Plus. Xbox has already shown increasing focus on this digital front with Games with Gold and the upcoming xCloud service. Nintendo Switch has only recently saw a rise in digital downloads following the launch of its online service near the end of 2018.
What do you think? Are you wowed for PlayStation’s success? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to follow Don’t Feed the Gamers on Twitter and Facebook to be informed of the latest gaming and entertainment news 24 hours a day! For more headlines recently featured on DFTG, check out these next few news stories:
Eric Hall2712 Posts
Phone-browsing Wikipedia in one hand and clutching his trusty controller in the other, the legendary Eric Hall spreads his wealth of knowledge as a writer for Don't Feed the Gamers. Be sure to catch his biweekly "Throwback Thursday" segment for a nostalgic look at trivia from the past.
